PENDLETON — Pendleton football coach Erik Davis had a hard decision to make at the start of the season.

With quarterback Jackson Davis unable to play because of a knee injury, Davis called upon the team’s best receiver — Collin Primus — to take over under center.

The move has been a good one as the Bucks won the Special District 1 title with a 7-0 record and are 9-1 overall heading into the first round of the 5A state playoffs Friday, Nov. 5, against the Dallas Dragons.

“Being a quarterback is the hardest position,” Davis said. “The ball goes through your hands every play. You have to manage the game. Catch the ball, make the right reads. He has done a great job in that aspect. We built an offense he can run and feel comfortable with.”

Primus was a little hesitant at the beginning to move from receiver to quarterback, but since has embraced the role.

“I knew my better position was receiver, but I wanted to do what was best for the team,” Primus said. “I was excited and nervous. I like the mental aspect of it. The wide receiver position is where my heart’s at, but I am willing to do what it takes to take my team into the playoffs.”

The Bucks have been run heavy at times this season, which benefitted Primus at the start of the season until he got his feet wet.

“It was a tough transition,” he said. “I just had to take extra time, extra practice. The more I watched film, I got a better understanding of what was going on. I know what plays would work well for what defenses they run, and how to pick out the defense’s weak spots on the field.”

And, he has leaned on his offensive line for support.

“We don’t have the biggest size on the line, but they have a lot of heart and work their butts off to help me out,” Primus said. “(Center) Andrew Demianew does a great job. He runs our line very well. He’s a good guy to have at center.”

Davis has enjoyed watching Primus succeed in his new role.

“Going into the year, we had hopes to move him out there (receiver) and use other kids at quarterback,” Davis said. “He got more comfortable, and his demeanor is calming to other kids. As soon as we felt he earned that sport, we ran with it. He has turned into a pretty good high school quarterback. He is part of what got us here.”

The Bucks will need Primus to be at the top of his game the night of Nov. 5 against the Dragons.

Pendleton is coming off a bye week, which Davis said was much needed.

“We needed it to heal,” Davis said. “It couldn’t have come at a better time. Kyle (Liscom) has had a little bit of a back issue that has been bothering him. It was good to let him heal a little bit. He is the rock on the defense we need. Any extra time and treatment he can get will increase his productivity.”

Dallas is the No. 4 team from Special District 3, finishing the regular season with a 5-4 overall record.

“We’ve started the process, but haven’t completely broken them down,” Davis said. “They are a good team. They create some matchup issues. They run a modified Wing-T and they are run heavy. They get off the ball really well. They have to come here, which helps a little bit. Right now, everyone is pretty good. We are going to have to play a very good football game.”

The Bucks saw a version of the Wing-T against Putnam, but it’s not something they see a lot of.

“With a run-heavy team, the clock seems to disappear pretty quickly,” Davis said. “We’ve got to score when we have the ball and force a couple of turnovers to get our defense off the field.”

Offensively, the Bucks have Liscom, Payton Lambert and Brock Mackey coming out of the backfield, Ben Jennings and Luke Bensching have been reliable receivers, and tight end Aiden Gunter has been a useful weapon.

“Defensively, they bring a lot of pressure,” Davis said. “We have to be solid in our blocking schemes. Game by game, you see what’s working. If the run game is working, that is an easy game to call. If you are thrown into a must-throw situation, your playbook shrinks. We adjust as a coaching staff to allow them to do what they can do. We will make sure our kids are prepared.”